Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia

Ælfgar (died c. 1062) was the son of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, by his famous wife Godgifu (Lady Godiva).

At Easter 1053 Godwin died, so Harold became Earl of Wessex, and the earldom of East Anglia returned to Ælfgar.

The Earl and his men eventually took flight, and Gruffydd and Ælfgar pursued them, killing and wounding as they went, and enacting savage reprisals on Hereford.

They are, in no particular order: Ælfgar's son Burgheard predeceased his father, expiring while returning from Rome early in 1061, and was buried at Reims.

This led Ælfgar to give to Reims Abbey lands in Staffordshire and Shropshire, which became the endowment for Lapley Priory.

Roundel from the Guthlac Roll depicting various benefactors to St Guthlac's shrine, including King Æthelbald of Mercia , Abbot Thurketel and Earl Ælfgar.